1. Field of the Invention
The present invention provides one or more powered wireless transceivers and/or one or more passive wireless transceivers, a reader/interrogator with variable transmission power, one or more reader/interrogator antennas connected to a human or robotic hand and/or foot, a method for making same and the method of using these devices for process control, automation, recording, and verification involving one or more items in addition to locating, tracking and identifying these items in the supply chain.
2. Description of Related Art
A radio-frequency identification (RFID) transceiver is a device that receives an electronic signal, generates a response signal, and then transmits the response signal with an identification code. RFID transceivers, generally affixed to individual merchandise palettes, individual shipping containers on a palette or individual items within a container, in a warehouse, in a storage facility, or on a retailer shelf, have been used to locate, identify and track these items in the supply chain by the interrogation of them with a fixed or hand-held reader/interrogator operated by an operator or programmed to operate automatically at specific locations such as at the entry or exit of a storage facility, at a check-out counter, or on the shelf.
Passive wireless transceivers (RFIDs) have been widely used commercially for supply chain management of merchandise. Conventionally available passive RFID transceivers employ a printed antenna on a strip of film/tape which can be attached to merchandise in a way similar to a strip of common adhesive tape. The size of a passive RFID is determined by the size of its antenna. Because of this relatively small form factor, passive RFID devices can be easily affixed to any object. Readers or interrogators are generally realized as handheld devices or fixed devices with patch or panel antennas.
The focus of conventional tracking methods and technology has been on the use of RFIDs for the inventorying of individual merchandise palettes, individual shipping containers, and individual items within a container, in a warehouse, in a storage facility, on a retailer shelf, or in use by an end user. It is desirable to provide RFID devices and readers/interrogators that can be used to control and police the operational steps that must be taken to successfully complete a task and verify that all required steps were taken in completing the task.